Heat/AC Fans broken!

My heat/ac fans 1-2 broke about a year ago. Now my fans 3-4 broke. My car only has 60,000 miles on it and has has tons of problems already. Does anyone know if these are easy to fix so I can save some money? Please let me know how to fix these. Thanks.

no but i'm having the same problem with mine, 1-2 don't work... 3-4 haven't gone out yet... anyone have an answer for this?

-MalibuSean

under the dash on the pasenger side is your fan just behind the fan is a resister with a plug on it. two small bolts hold this in place with a electrical plug on it. this resister looks like a small computer board about 2 inches by 3 inches its cost is around $16 at carquest

Like many other Malibu owners I have this problem on my '98 Malibu, and would like to replace the resistor on my own. However I have not been able to find any detailled instructions and/or diagrams on the web. If anyone is aware of a source or link for this information I would appreciate it if they could post a reply.

Thanks,

Kelly

You will need: 1/4" Socket set, universal joint, patience.

1. Remove the plastic cover from the underside of the passenger dash. (Four screws with socket set) Note how the two air ducts on the left and top are connected, and how the other cover piece is connected to the piece you are removing. This is helpful when you go to reinstall it.
2. Slide the black hanging module to the right and pull it down carefully. push it to the right side being careful not to damage the wires.
3. Remove the blower motor power cable located on the forward side of the blower.
4. Remove the jumper cable link to the bad resistor located on the resistor near the forward side of the blower.
5. Remove the blower motor. (Three screws with socket set) You mat not need to do this, but it helps give you some room to work, and lets you see the resistor before proceeding.
6. Look in the open hole from the blower toward the fire wall to see the green resistor that looks like a computer board. Study it; Get to know it; Cause from here on out you will hate it.
7. Remove the two screws. This seems simple enough. Wrong. (This is where you might need the U-joint on your socket set and the patience)
8. Install new resistor. Mine was $19 at Carquest, and looks different than the original. It is longer, and black not green. (again: Two screws, U-joint, patience)
9. Install Blower motor using three retained screws if you removed it.
10. Connect the blower motor power, and the resistor jumper.
11. Test the blower fan settings, and smile.
12. Align and push the Module up into the slot and slide it to the left.
13. Install the cover using four retained screws. This is where it helped to pay attention to the ducts and the other cover.

That's it. It is an easy job, that takes a long time. I screwed around with mine for over an hour. Most of the time was wasted on the resistor's two screws. This is why I suggest a 1/4" socket set. I think I wasted a lot of time with the U-joint and reducer on my 3/8" set. You will also have a backache after this since you spent an hour laying ofer the seat bottom and the door jamb.

Yup, that sounds about right. I cannot say that I have replaced one on a Malibu, but I have on many other similar GM vehicles, and they are all that easy-yet agonizing :). I usually a flex extension instead of a universal joint, but same result.

By the way Chevy probably knows about this defect! I have asked all the Malibu owners to e-mail me if they have this problem, because I think GM should pay for all of this!!!! It is a true hidden defect!
Rick


Yup, that sounds about right. I cannot say that I have replaced one on a Malibu, but I have on many other similar GM vehicles, and they are all that easy-yet agonizing :). I usually a flex extension instead of a universal joint, but same result.

You will need: 1/4" Socket set, universal joint, patience.

1. Remove the plastic cover from the underside of the passenger dash. (Four screws with socket set) Note how the two air ducts on the left and top are connected, and how the other cover piece is connected to the piece you are removing. This is helpful when you go to reinstall it.
2. Slide the black hanging module to the right and pull it down carefully. push it to the right side being careful not to damage the wires.
3. Remove the blower motor power cable located on the forward side of the blower.
4. Remove the jumper cable link to the bad resistor located on the resistor near the forward side of the blower.
5. Remove the blower motor. (Three screws with socket set) You mat not need to do this, but it helps give you some room to work, and lets you see the resistor before proceeding.
6. Look in the open hole from the blower toward the fire wall to see the green resistor that looks like a computer board. Study it; Get to know it; Cause from here on out you will hate it.
7. Remove the two screws. This seems simple enough. Wrong. (This is where you might need the U-joint on your socket set and the patience)
8. Install new resistor. Mine was $19 at Carquest, and looks different than the original. It is longer, and black not green. (again: Two screws, U-joint, patience)
9. Install Blower motor using three retained screws if you removed it.
10. Connect the blower motor power, and the resistor jumper.
11. Test the blower fan settings, and smile.
12. Align and push the Module up into the slot and slide it to the left.
13. Install the cover using four retained screws. This is where it helped to pay attention to the ducts and the other cover.

That's it. It is an easy job, that takes a long time. I screwed around with mine for over an hour. Most of the time was wasted on the resistor's two screws. This is why I suggest a 1/4" socket set. I think I wasted a lot of time with the U-joint and reducer on my 3/8" set. You will also have a backache after this since you spent an hour laying ofer the seat bottom and the door jamb.


I have tried with these instructions AND SUCCEEDED! Thank you for writing these!!! They were very helpful!

Jeez, you guys are great. Wish I had had this excellent advice when the '98 was in "the house". Seems simple. Ditched that last month.

So now it's an '04 Maxx, pretty good so far. Minor hiccups, nothing major. Best car, so far, out of the box. That includes a Honda Accord in my past.

rcohen, you're a great guy, no doubt, but give it up. Go to the Chevy dealer and treat yourself to an '04 Malibu or Maxx. Take advantage of the $4,000 Owner Loyalty rebate. More than makes up for the hassles. Bite the bullet. Some things are worth fighting for (like the Prez election), but NOT a '99 Malibu.

Any hint on a part number for the improved resistor? thanks.

my 1 & 2 went out, so I took the car to the dealership at 23,000 miles, they replaced the fan, now the air blows out fine, but now you can hear the motor of the fan blowing. Also when i turn the air on for inside only, on frequent stops and pauses on the breaks, the air goes back to coming from the outside. any ideas on why it does this? Dealership says that this is a frequent thing....i feel my leg being pulled on this one

my 1 & 2 went out, so I took the car to the dealership at 23,000 miles, they replaced the fan, now the air blows out fine, but now you can hear the motor of the fan blowing. Also when i turn the air on for inside only, on frequent stops and pauses on the breaks, the air goes back to coming from the outside. any ideas on why it does this? Dealership says that this is a frequent thing....i feel my leg being pulled on this one
They replaced the whole fan cuz of the 1 & 2 control problem? I hope that was covered by warranty, cuz it was only a blown resister...that's a common problem with the pre-2004 Malibus. I had that problem as well in the past.

Anyways, GM used a faulty control panel for the air recirculation and never bothered to replace it as the years went on. So every once in a while, the control will automatically set itself back to the "outside air setting." I don't know if they fix this problem at the dealers...it's not a big deal for me, so I never bothered.

You will need: 1/4" Socket set, universal joint, patience.

<snip>

That's it. It is an easy job, that takes a long time. I screwed around with mine for over an hour. Most of the time was wasted on the resistor's two screws. This is why I suggest a 1/4" socket set. I think I wasted a lot of time with the U-joint and reducer on my 3/8" set. You will also have a backache after this since you spent an hour laying ofer the seat bottom and the door jamb.

Hi BeatnikTermite, thanks for your great instructions here. I am experiencing just this problem on a 2000 Malibu and was quoted $86 to replace it from where I bought it (down to $76 'cos I'm related to a worker there).

I will be buying the part myself and doing the work - with instructions like these how can I go wrong :)?

I assume there was never a recall put on this problem then?

Cheers, Sam.

when replacing the resistor you will need a 5.5 mm socket.
The following is a site that shows how to repair the A/c- heater controls:
http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/AC_ControllersAreRepairable.pdf

It took me 30 minutes total to do this repair and it fixed the problem with the a/c cutting in out.

Why after all the problems you've had, would you go but ANOTHER Malibu? Seems crazy. All the problems with resistors, manifold gaskets, brakes, theft systems, A/C control panels and GM doesn't care. Then you would go buy another GM product? I can tell you I won't ever buy another GM. Going back to Honda and Toyota. 199,984 miles and 302,218 miles and never a problem.

Here's a wierd twist to the story... I had the same symptoms, 1 and 2 not working, then 3, 4, 5 also died. I followed all the directions above. Still have a problem with not-working-ness (as before). HGowever, in the (very) brief time it worked, 1 and 2 were back. Now its mostly intermittent, leaning towards not working at all (it'll be on for 10 seconds or so, then fades out till its completely shut down, then its off for a few minutes, then repeats the process).

I've also replaced the relay under the hood. I have a feeling the blower is next. Thoughts?

norine62

I'd also put my money on the squirrel cage bearings.

There not all bad, they have produced a whole lot of Malibus (it is one of the top sellers)and I've put 160,000+ miles on one without a major problem. Every manuf. has problems even honda and toyota and by the way I put 320,000 miles on a Gm product and I dont work for them.

Thanks for the info Beatnik. I've been suffering without a/c all last summer in Florida due to the dealer and a local repair shop telling me this repair would take 8.1 hours and cost $400 - $700. Can you believe he actually said 8.1 hrs?!?
Anyway, I'll be working on this over the weekend.
Thanks again.

You are welcome, but you may want to look here instead:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=324040

I think I added information that will help such as socket sizes, part numbers, etc.

You will need: 1/4" Socket set, universal joint, patience.

1. Remove the plastic cover from the underside of the passenger dash. (Four screws with socket set) Note how the two air ducts on the left and top are connected, and how the other cover piece is connected to the piece you are removing. This is helpful when you go to reinstall it.
2. Slide the black hanging module to the right and pull it down carefully. push it to the right side being careful not to damage the wires.
3. Remove the blower motor power cable located on the forward side of the blower.
4. Remove the jumper cable link to the bad resistor located on the resistor near the forward side of the blower.
5. Remove the blower motor. (Three screws with socket set) You mat not need to do this, but it helps give you some room to work, and lets you see the resistor before proceeding.
6. Look in the open hole from the blower toward the fire wall to see the green resistor that looks like a computer board. Study it; Get to know it; Cause from here on out you will hate it.
7. Remove the two screws. This seems simple enough. Wrong. (This is where you might need the U-joint on your socket set and the patience)
8. Install new resistor. Mine was $19 at Carquest, and looks different than the original. It is longer, and black not green. (again: Two screws, U-joint, patience)
9. Install Blower motor using three retained screws if you removed it.
10. Connect the blower motor power, and the resistor jumper.
11. Test the blower fan settings, and smile.
12. Align and push the Module up into the slot and slide it to the left.
13. Install the cover using four retained screws. This is where it helped to pay attention to the ducts and the other cover.

That's it. It is an easy job, that takes a long time. I screwed around with mine for over an hour. Most of the time was wasted on the resistor's two screws. This is why I suggest a 1/4" socket set. I think I wasted a lot of time with the U-joint and reducer on my 3/8" set. You will also have a backache after this since you spent an hour laying ofer the seat bottom and the door jamb.
good detail explanation. I have a 1998 Malibu, 2 years ago I replaced the resistor myself, took me about half an hour, one beer, a little patience and came out a bit more flexible withoput any back ache. Piece a cake. Patience needed and the right tools as described above.

"I've also replaced the relay under the hood. I have a feeling the blower is next. Thoughts?

norine62"


That was my problem. I would check all the associated wires around the blower motor with a voltmeter first to be sure, but that sounds like what it is. 1-4 run through the resistor and the relay, 5 doesn't go through the resistor. That's why it's unlikely to lose all of them if the fuse, relay, and motor are all good.

Just be sure wherever you go for the part they give you the right one. I went to several different parts stores and finally got something that at least fit and would work at napa. They ususally come with a good amount of wire and butt connectors on them. The squirrel cage was half the height on the ones from advance and autozone(s).

Thank for all

What? Try this,
I just did it today on a 2002 malibu
Dont try the previouse posted tech!

First: http://autorepair.about.com/library/illustrations/bl629a-lib.htm
then:http://www.2carpros.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=98638

OK:
so you see the second clip behind the blower motorm THAT is the Blower motor resistor! and the two screws that hold it in place, that all you need to know.

second: remove the 3 screws that hold the lower panel in place. That would be the botom panel in the pasenger foot well, below the glove box. You can reference the Previous Instructions to do this.

Stop: Do not remove the Blower motor!

Third: Do remove the plugs for the Blower Motor and It resister, a total of 2 electrial plugs.

Fourth: Pull back the carpet carefully, it is tucked under the right outside wall near the door hinge, just pull it free carefully. fold the carpet back over its self and towards the passenger seat, this will expose more area to work under.

Fifth: Take a tool, i used a socket ( i dont remember what size ) and attached it to a Flex handle driver ( a socket wrench with a head that can rotate like your knee ) or use a socket style screw driver with a universal joint at the end.
Remove the screws.

Sixth: attach the new resistor, and reverse directions to complete reassembly.

Its quick once you get familiar with it.
I could do it in 15 minutes if i hade to do it again, The other way listed in the thread did not work on my 2002 malibu, god bless,

Between the posts provided by Beatnik and What!, I was able to replace the resistor and fix this problem!

For my '01 Malibu LS, I needed a lone 7/32" socket to remove the screws for the blower motor and resistor. As noted, the screw closest to the firewall for the resistor will be the most difficult part of this job.

THANK YOU!

For the forward screw cut the insulation 1 inch across the top and 2 inches down on each side, fold down.There is now room to get at the firewall screw, then just push the insulation back in place.